Don't mention Falklands, Brown told

Gordon Brown has been urged not to discuss the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands with the president of Argentina when they meet this week.

The PM will meet Cristina Kirchner on Friday at a progressive forum of left-of-centre leaders in Chile, during his visit to Latin America.

Mrs Kirchner has made the issue of the islands a personal priority.

She announced in her inaugural speech that Argentina's sovereignty was non-negotiable and repeated the claim on the 26th anniversary of the 1982 invasion last year.

She had been expected to raise the issue at the April 2 summit of G20 nations hosted by Mr Brown in London on the 27th anniversary of the Argentine seizure of the islands. Mrs Kirchner will lead the commemorative ceremony of the anniversary at the Argentine embassy in London that day.

But according to reports in the Argentine press, British diplomats have headed off the threat of an embarrassing row at the London summit by agreeing to a bilateral meeting with Mr Brown in Chile.

She is expected to use the opportunity to set out her position on the islands, which were restored to UK rule in a war which cost the lives of 255 British service personnel.

Downing Street has confirmed that Mr Brown and Mrs Kirchner are expected to be present at Friday's forum, but declined to comment on whether they would hold bilateral talks or what they might discuss.

Retired Royal Navy petty officer Derek Cole, the chief executive of the Falklands Veterans Foundation, told the Daily Express: "There should not be any discussion of the sovereignty. The Falklands should stay British, that's what the veterans want and that's what the islanders want."

And Conservative foreign affairs spokesman David Lidington said: "We want good relations with Argentina but the Prime Minister must make it very clear that the democratic rights of the Falkland Islanders must come first."